Reading to Learn in Content Areas: The Case of Pre-Service Teachers

Teacher educators often wonder how to meaningfully support pre-service teachers to navigate content area texts including mathematics and science texts. This book based on empirical research from a teachers college in Kenya unearths some of the bottle-necks that come in the way to reading to learn from content area texts among pre-service teachers. Findings from the study emphasize the need for both language and content area lecturers to work together to bolster pre-service teachers'' skills in reading to learn from content areas. The quality of support provided has a direct impact on how the pre-service teachers will in-turn support secondary school students to read mathematical and scientific texts.Implications for future efforts in mathematics and science teacher preparation; professional development of teacher educators; government policy and curriculum development; and for all stakeholders involved and/or interested in scientific and mathematical literacy education in developing economies are made. Recommendations for further research provided suggest that this journey ends where all journeys end – at another beginning.